World news | The Guardian

Annette Musolino told by commission she let the system run despite advice saying there was a fundamental problem with its legality

Large seasonally adjusted fall of 3.9% also due to higher spending over Black Friday sales period, economists say

Police allege parents failed to provide care for three-year-old girl’s treatable medical condition

Murdok, 30, has been charged with murder and kidnapping after death of 61-year-old Sleeman

More than 10m people consume alcohol at levels that pose a risk to their health, experts sayGPs in England and Wales are being urged to ask patients detailed questions about their drinking habits amid concerns that thousands of people with alcohol issues are “slipping through the net”.More than 10 million people consume alcohol at levels that pose a risk to their health, according to experts. Millions are mildly or moderately dependent on alcohol, while about 600,000 people have severe alcohol dependency and will, as a result, benefit hugely from professional alcohol treatment. Continue reading...

Report by children’s commissioner for England finds worrying amount of content involves violenceOne in 10 children have watched pornography by the time they are nine years old, according to “disturbing” new research by the children’s commissioner for England.The report found a quarter of pupils in their final year of primary school have already been exposed. It also showed much of the material being consumed by children and young people features violence. Continue reading...

Environmental improvement plan includes many ambitious pledges but hard-pressed agricultural sector will need effective support

NHS leaders warn disruption to patients could become even worse as healthcare staff plan further strikesHospitals in England have had to cancel 88,000 appointments because of strikes by nurses and ambulance staff over the last seven weeks, figures have revealed.NHS bosses warned on Tuesday that the already “shocking scale of disruption” to patient care could “skyrocket” in coming weeks as unions intensify their campaign and walkouts over pay become commonplace. Continue reading...

At least 59 people dead and more than 150 wounded in suicide bombing that Pakistan Taliban says it is not responsible for, in contradiction of earlier admissionAt least 59 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in a suicide bombing carried out by the Pakistan Taliban at a mosque in the city of Peshawar, as the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate.The blast struck as 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, located in the Police Lines area of the Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the city’s police headquarters and counter-terrorism officers are based. Most of those inside the mosque were thought to be officers. Continue reading...

Noel’s House Party costume originally listed on eBay for £39 by anonymous former BBC employeeThe winner of an online auction to buy an original Mr Blobby costume has backed out just an hour after bidding £62,000 for the sought-after item.Although the outfit was originally listed on eBay for £39, the price increased once it began attracting attention online. The seller, a former BBC employee who wished to remain anonymous, admitted they were not surprised when the winning bidder reneged on the deal. Continue reading...

Both men had already been arrested following shooting of council worker in her garden in August last yearTwo men have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal shooting of a council worker in Liverpool last year.A 40-year-old and a 28-year-old, both from Huyton, Merseyside, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm with intent, by detectives investigating the death of Ashley Dale, 28, who was found with a gunshot wound in the back garden of her home in Old Swan, Liverpool. Officers were called to an address in Leinster Road at about 12.40am on 21 August after reports of concern for a woman at the property. Continue reading...

Ex-Brazil president who has been in Florida since 30 December is being investigated for attempt to topple country’s governmentBrazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing investigation as part of an inquiry into alleged attempt to topple the country’s government, has filed a request for a six-month visitor visa to stay in the US.The former leader is understood to have entered the US on an A-1 visa reserved for sitting heads of state, which would expire on Tuesday, 30 days from the end of his presidential term. Continue reading...

Met urges mother to come forward over concerns for her welfare after discovery in BarnetPolice have launched an appeal after a foetus was left in a box outside a north London hospital.The foetus is thought to have been aged about 16 weeks old, according to the Metropolitan police, who are treating the matter as unexplained. The mother has been urged to come forward due to concerns for her welfare. Continue reading...

Lawsuit filed in New York accuses musician of ‘childhood and adult sexual abuse’, among other allegations, in mid-1990sIn a lawsuit filed on Long Island, New York, on Monday, the singer Marilyn Manson was accused of “childhood and adult sexual abuse, sexual battery, assault and molestation”.The suit, which alleged Manson first targeted the unnamed plaintiff when she was 16 in 1995, came less than a week after the singer, whose real name is Brian Warner, reached a settlement with the actor Esmé Bianco, who sued him in April 2021, alleging rape and sexual battery.In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit the Men’s Advice Line or Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

PM says his sacking of Zahawi shows he will take ‘whatever steps are necessary’ to restore integrity to politicsRishi Sunak has dismissed claims that Nadhim Zahawi was unfairly treated after he was sacked for breaking the ministerial code in a row over his tax affairs, saying his government was committed to integrity.Senior MPs have privately suggested that Sunak’s action against Zahawi meant there could be no way back for the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab – the subject of 24 bullying complaints. Continue reading...

Kremlin spokesperson says supply of arms to Kyiv from west has led to Nato becoming more directly involved in the conflict

Staff filed records claiming far more care was given, evidence suggestsA dementia home care agency spent as little as three and a half minutes on taxpayer-funded care visits and filed records claiming far more care was given, according to evidence seen by the Guardian.The hasty care was exposed by Susan Beswick’s family, who called it “totally inadequate”. They say they had been told visits to 78-year-old Beswick, who has Alzheimer’s disease, were supposed to last 30 or 45 minutes. Continue reading...

Former Wales rugby captain agrees to pay £75,000 plus costs to Ian Baum but says he has not admitted any liabilityGareth Thomas has settled a court case with an ex-partner who accused the former Wales rugby captain of “deceptively” transmitting HIV to him.Ian Baum sued Thomas in the high court for allegedly hiding his HIV status and “failing to take reasonable care” not to pass the virus on. Continue reading...

Inquest hears from police staff member who processed Jake Davison’s application for shotgun certificateA police staff member who recommended the Plymouth gunman Jake Davison be granted a shotgun certificate had not received any formal training but rather had to learn “on the job”, an inquest has heard.David Rees knew Davison had carried out violent assaults on teachers but told the inquest in Exeter this did not concern him as it had been dealt with internally and he had apologised. Continue reading...

Commissioner for public appointments William Shawcross admits he has met Richard Sharp several timesThe head of an investigation into Richard Sharp’s appointment as the BBC chair has recused himself from the process, admitting the pair have met several times.William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, said an independent person would be selected by his office to look at Sharp’s hiring, and said he would “play no part in this particular investigation”. Continue reading...

The countries will jointly supply thousands of artillery shells to Kyiv to kickstart ‘new cooperation between defence industries’

Conglomerate responds to Hindenburg Research report that claimed it was the ‘biggest con in corporate history’

Union accuses education secretary of ‘squandering opportunity’ to avert planned action on Wednesday

Latest ONS data shows that people who ran out of food also struggled to keep warm as prices rose furtherMany people in the UK ate food past its use-by date and struggled to keep warm in the run-up to Christmas as prices rose further, official data shows.About one in five adults (18%) reported eating smaller portions and food past its use-by date, which can make people sick, according to the latest Office for National Statistics monthly data release on winter pressures. The rates are even higher among those with depression, diabetes or dependent children. Continue reading...

Fire Brigades Union announces result of strike ballotFirefighters across the UK have voted for strike action, with 88% voting in favour on a 73% turnout, the union has said.Two separate simultaneous ballots, in Northern Ireland and among control room staff in the north-west of England, also delivered strong results. Continue reading...

US secretary of state to meet Israeli PM and Palestinian Authority president after spate of deadly attacksA Palestinian man has died after an altercation with Israeli troops, as violence in the region continued to spiral before the arrival of the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.Nassim Nayef Salman Abu Fouda, 26, was shot in the head at a checkpoint in the restive city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Monday. The Israeli army said Abu Fouda had driven his car into a soldier, and crashed it after shots were fired and he attempted to drive off. Continue reading...

Paul Signac’s Le Port de La Rochelle was lifted from a museum in 2018 and found a year later by Kviv police in an unconnected raidA Ukrainian man has gone on trial in France accused of masterminding the theft of a €1.5m (£1.3m) painting discovered in a house in Kyiv a year after it disappeared from a museum in Nancy.The work by Paul Signac, Le Port de La Rochelle, went missing from the Musée de Beaux-Arts in Nancy, north-east France, in 2018. Continue reading...

Ingolstadt body identified by family as 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman was later found to be Algerian bloggerA 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman sought out a lookalike on Instagram and murdered her with a friend in order to fake her own death, prosecutors in Bavaria believe.When the blood-covered body of a young woman was found last August in a parked Mercedes in Ingolstadt, southern Germany, reports initially identified the victim as Sharaban K, a Munich-based 23-year-old beautician with Iraqi roots. Continue reading...

Officers ‘extremely concerned’ for Nicola Bulley, 45, who has been missing since FridayThe mystery surrounding the whereabouts of a woman who went missing four days ago has deepened after police revealed her phone was found on a bench near where she was last seen.Police said they were “extremely concerned” for Nicola Bulley, 45, who went missing shortly after taking her two daughters to school near a quiet Lancashire village on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, tells ABC’s QandA that position of Greens senator is a ‘misnomer’

Holly Newton, 15, was a talented dancer who had ‘whole life ahead of her’ before death last Friday in HexhamA family has paid tribute to a 15-year-girl stabbed to death in Northumberland, calling her “much-loved, bright and bubbly” and someone who was passionate about her family and many friends.Relatives of Holly Newton said she had been a talented dancer who took part in competitions up and down the country. Continue reading...

Companies such as Vitol and Trafigura in spotlight over profits after Ukraine invasionProfits from global commodities trading for companies including Vitol and Trafigura have nearly doubled to more than $50bn (£30bn) in recent years, driven by volatile oil prices, fresh analysis has shown.Global commodities trading profits ballooned to about $52bn of profits in 2021, up from $27bn in 2018, and are expected to continue to grow, according to a report by consultancy McKinsey & Company. Continue reading...

Strong sang on the label’s first hit Money in 1960 and went on to co-write landmark songs including Heard It Through the Grapevine and WarBarrett Strong, a singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the vocalist on Motown’s first hit single Money (That’s What I Want), has died, aged 81. The news was confirmed on Monday by the Motown Museum; no cause of death was given.Born in Mississippi in 1941 but raised in Detroit, Strong was one of the first artists to be signed by the future Motown maven Berry Gordy. He began recording for Gordy’s label, Tamla Records, in the late 1950s, and in 1960 his recording of the Gordy-penned Money (That’s What I Want) became the first hit for either artist. Peaking at No 2 on the R&B singles chart and No 23 on the Hot 100, Money came to define the early years of Motown, and was later recorded by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Rami Ranger faces criticism over ‘deplorable’ comments about Pakistani journalists at the corporationA Conservative peer has been accused of using “deplorable” and “racially charged language” in a scathing attack on the BBC’s recent documentary about the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.Rami Ranger, who is already under investigation by the standards commissioners in the Lords, was criticised for comments made about Pakistani journalists at the corporation. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he acted decisively to dismiss Tory party chair for breaches of ministerial code

Legislation would force organisations to provide financial records to government with threat of bans for political or security reasonsNew legislation proposed by the Venezuelan government to regulate civil society groups would kill the last functioning remnant of the country’s democracy and take it a step closer to a police state, leading NGOs have warned.The bill passed its first reading in the country’s legislature on Tuesday and, if approved in a second reading, will obligate NGOs to provide the government with all their financial records so that their political agendas and funding can be scrutinised. Continue reading...

Asset manager and insurance group’s shares fall after news, making it the worst performer on the FTSE 100The chief executive of Legal & General, Nigel Wilson, is to retire after more than a decade leading Britain’s largest asset manager and insurance group.L&G, which manages £1.3tn worth of assets for clients including workplace pension schemes, is now on the hunt for a successor. Continue reading...

SES called into action 19 times to free people from their vehicles and trains between Bankstown and the centre cancelled

Two teenagers and 31-year-old man were subjected to torture including rape and beatings and denied fair trial, says groupThe alleged torture of three young Iranian men facing the death penalty has been detailed in a report by Amnesty International that raises deep concerns about the country’s judicial system.One of the men, Mehdi Mohammadifard, was raped by prison guards and severely beaten, the rights group said. Amnesty said it had learned that Mohammadifard suffered anal injuries and rectal bleeding that required treatment in a hospital outside the prison where he was being held. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report reveals postcode lottery as barely half FE institutions offer some form of language teachingBusiness groups and language experts are calling on ministers to make linguistic skills a core part of vocational training, after research found young people are unable to study languages at large numbers of further education colleges.A report by the British Academy published on Monday, shows that despite the importance of linguistic skills in many jobs, the ability to learn French, German or Spanish, let alone less common languages, has become a postcode lottery. Continue reading...

Airline says customers are keen to book Easter and summer flights as people want to escape ‘bad news’Ryanair made record third-quarter profits as the budget airline benefited from pent-up travel demand from cost-conscious customers.The budget airline increased its full-year profit guidance after the strong performance, as profit after tax surged to €211m (£185m) between October and December. That is compared with a loss of €96m during the same period in 2021 and more than double its €88m profit in the same three months in 2019, before the pandemic. Continue reading...

Former top lawyer for the Department of Human Services said she relied on another department’s position that income averaging scheme was lawful

Critics fear still-unpublished review into anti-radicalisation strategy could link it to extremismAn organisation that monitors Prevent, the UK government’s controversial programme to stop people getting drawn into terrorism, has warned of a defamation action against the Home Office before a review into the strategy.Prevent Watch, which has supported 600 individuals it says have wrongly been affected by Prevent, sent a formal letter to the department threatening legal action. Continue reading...

West Midlands mayor believes it shouldn’t only be up to civil servants in London to make project funding decisionsThe Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has criticised the government’s levelling up policy for being too centralised, and said he chose to “put place before party” when he spoke out on the issue.Last week Andy Street broke ranks with his party as he labelled the government’s levelling up plans as a “broken begging bowl culture”, and said he was disappointed more funding hadn’t been allocated to the West Midlands. Continue reading...

Rugg is suing the Kooyong independent in federal court in relation to Fair Work Act’s ‘general protections’ provisions

Dina Boluarte threatens constitutional reform if lawmakers fail to bring forward national votePeru’s president, Dina Boluarte, has made a renewed appeal for congress to hold early elections as a way to end weeks of deadly protests, warning that otherwise she would seek constitutional reform to make a vote happen.The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily protests since 7 December, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve congress and rule by decree. Continue reading...

Death of Sourour Abouda casts spotlight on treatment of minority ethnic citizens by Belgium’s policeThe death of a Belgian-Tunisian woman in police custody earlier this month has been rejected by her family as a case of suicide, while casting a spotlight on the treatment of minority ethnic citizens by Belgium’s police.Sourour Abouda, a 46-year-old NGO worker, was found dead in a police cell early in the morning of 12 January, after being arrested several hours before. She had been found drunk in the fashionable district of Place Châtelain in Brussels and taken to a police station in the city centre, according to local media reports that have not been officially confirmed. Continue reading...

Fighters of Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion oppose Putin and his strongman Ramzan Kadyrov as they battle with Ukrainian prejudiceFor all their efforts fighting for Ukraine in the eastern city of Bakhmut, if the Chechen volunteers’ Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion was a football club it would be Millwall. Nobody likes us, their fans sing, and “we don’t care”, says Tor, 38, with a laugh.“Once I heard from one Ukrainian: ‘You can do what do you want here in Ukraine, but you will still in our opinion be terrorists and gangsters,’” says the Chechen private, who asked to be identified only by his call sign. “And I said: ‘You know what [is] the difference between me and you, or my nation and yours? We don’t care what Ukrainians think about us, we don’t care what Americans, Russians or British think of us. In truth, we do not care what the Chechens think of us.’ Yeah. We have to do what we have to do, you know.” Continue reading...

Launched by Anthony Albanese at Melbourne live music pub the Espy, the policy offers welcome support for the beleaguered industry

Strong Grandmothers of the Central Desert group wants Anthony Albanese and other politicians to hear concerns at grassroots level